1961 Belgian Grand Prix: F1 Race, Qualifying & Winners

Ferrari swept the first four places at Spa, with Phil Hill beating Wolfgang von Trips, Richie Ginther and Olivier Gendebien. The Italian cars were in a class of their own on the fast Belgian circuit.

Result	Driver / Time	Team
Pole position	Phil Hill	Ferrari
Pole time	3:59.3
Fastest lap	Richie Ginther	Ferrari
Fastest-lap time	3:59.800 on lap 20
First	Phil Hill	Ferrari
Second	Wolfgang von Trips	Ferrari
Third	Richie Ginther	Ferrari

Weekend Schedule

Date	Session	Local Time
16 June 1961	Friday timed practice	17:30–19:30
17 June 1961	Saturday final qualifying	15:00–17:00
18 June 1961	Race	15:00

All times are local. The race time is the scheduled start; weather delays and interruptions are described below.

Championship background

Wolfgang von Trips arrived at round 3 leading the 1961 F1 World Championship on 12 points, with Stirling Moss on 12. Ferrari headed the constructors’ standings after the preceding race with 14 points.

Race entries

Gendebien joined the three regular Ferrari drivers in a yellow car entered for Belgium. Innes Ireland returned after his Monaco injury. Starting-money arrangements divided the field between guaranteed entrants and drivers competing for three additional fully paid places.

Friday timed practice

Cliff Allison crashed on his opening lap and suffered leg injuries, stopping the session while the wreckage was cleared. Lotus missed the running because its transporter was delayed. Ferrari adjusted rear suspension settings to control tyre temperatures and improve handling, while Moss lacked straight-line speed. Von Trips ended the shortened evening fastest.

Saturday final qualifying

Lotus finally joined the action, but Ferrari extended its advantage after gearing changes and fuel checks. Phil Hill took pole with a late lap below four minutes. Surtees was the strongest British-car challenger. Chassis damage forced the Belgian team to abandon its Emerysons, prompting a search for replacement cars for Mairesse and Bianchi.

Qualifying Classification

Practice determined both grid positions and access to full starting money for the non-guaranteed entrants. Some drivers raced without that payment. Mairesse and Bianchi eventually used borrowed Lotus cars rather than the withdrawn Emerysons.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Timed session 1	Timed session 2	Best Time
1	4	Phil Hill	Ferrari	4:06.3	3:59.3	3:59.3
2	2	Wolfgang von Trips	Ferrari	4:04.0	4:00.1	4:00.1
3	8	Olivier Gendebien	Ferrari	4:05.8	4:03.0	4:03.0
4	24	John Surtees	Cooper	4:09.1	4:06.0	4:06.0
5	6	Richie Ginther	Ferrari	4:10.5	4:06.1	4:06.1
6	36	Graham Hill	BRM	4:07.6	unknown	4:07.6
7	38	Tony Brooks	BRM	4:09.8	4:07.9	4:07.9
8	14	Stirling Moss	Lotus	4:14.3	4:08.2	4:08.2
9	18	Jo Bonnier	Porsche	4:12.3	4:08.3	4:08.3
10	20	Dan Gurney	Porsche	4:08.4	4:10.9	4:08.4
11	28	Jack Brabham	Cooper	4:12.2	4:08.6	4:08.6
12	44	Masten Gregory	Cooper	4:13.5	4:10.2	4:10.2
13	40	Jackie Lewis	Cooper	4:18.0	4:11.1	4:11.1
14	22	Carel Godin de Beaufort	Porsche	4:18.7	4:16.7	4:16.7
15	30	Bruce McLaren	Cooper	4:22.9	4:17.4	4:17.4
16	34	Jim Clark	Lotus	No time	4:17.7	4:17.7
17	46	Lorenzo Bandini	Cooper	4:20.8	4:19.0	4:19.0
18	32	Innes Ireland	Lotus	No time	4:20.0	4:20.0
19	10	Willy Mairesse	Lotus	4:27.3	4:20.6	4:20.6
20	26	Maurice Trintignant	Cooper	8:54.2	4:21.4	4:21.4
21	42	Tony Marsh	Lotus	4:26.8	4:23.2	4:23.2
22	12	Lucien Bianchi	Emeryson	4:27.3	4:49.3	4:27.3
23	48	Wolfgang Seidel	Lotus	4:33.0	4:27.4	4:27.4
24	50	Ian Burgess	Lotus	4:57.2	4:34.6	4:34.6
DNS	16	Cliff Allison	Lotus	No time	No time	No time

What happened in the 1961 Belgian Grand Prix?

Graham Hill briefly led from the start, but all four Ferraris passed him before the opening lap ended. Phil Hill and von Trips then disputed the lead, with the other two Ferraris following.

Graham Hill and Surtees fought for the best position behind the Italian cars until an oil leak stopped the BRM. The leading Ferraris remained beyond reach throughout the afternoon.

Phil Hill won ahead of von Trips, Ginther and Gendebien. Surtees finished fifth and Gurney sixth. Ferrari’s extraordinary one-two-three-four demonstrated just how effectively its new cars suited the high-speed circuit.

After the race, Phil Hill headed the drivers’ standings with 19 points, followed by Wolfgang von Trips on 18. Ferrari led the constructors’ table on 22, with Lotus – Climax on 12.

1961 Belgian Grand Prix race results

The 1961 Belgian Grand Prix was held on 18 June 1961, with a scheduled start of 15:00 local time.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Time / Retired	Pts.
1	4	Phil Hill	Ferrari	30	2:03:03.8	9
2	2	Wolfgang von Trips	Ferrari	30	+0.7 secs	6
3	6	Richie Ginther	Ferrari	30	+19.5 secs	4
4	8	Olivier Gendebien	Ferrari	30	+45.6 secs	3
5	24	John Surtees	Cooper	30	+1:26.8	2
6	20	Dan Gurney	Porsche	30	+1:31.0	1
7	18	Jo Bonnier	Porsche	30	+2:47.1	0
8	14	Stirling Moss	Lotus	30	+3:55.6	0
9	40	Jackie Lewis	Cooper	29	+1 Lap	0
10	44	Masten Gregory	Cooper	29	+1 Lap	0
11	22	Carel Godin de Beaufort	Porsche	28	+2 Laps	0
12	34	Jim Clark	Lotus	24	+6 Laps	0
13	38	Tony Brooks	BRM	24	+6 Laps	0
Ret	36	Graham Hill	BRM	24	Ignition	0
Ret	26	Maurice Trintignant	Cooper	23	Gearbox	0
Ret	46	Lorenzo Bandini	Cooper	20	Wheel Bearing	0
Ret	28	Jack Brabham	Cooper	12	Engine	0
Ret	30	Bruce McLaren	Cooper	9	Ignition	0
Ret	32	Innes Ireland	Lotus	9	Engine	0
Ret	12	Lucien Bianchi	Lotus	9	Oil Leak	0
Ret	10	Willy Mairesse	Lotus	7	Ignition	0
DNS	42	Tony Marsh	Lotus		Start Money Dispute	0
DNS	48	Wolfgang Seidel	Lotus		Start Money Dispute	0
DNS	50	Ian Burgess	Lotus		Start Money Dispute	0
DNS	16	Cliff Allison	Lotus		Car Damaged in Practice	0
WD	16	Henry Taylor	Lotus		Car Damaged by Allison	0

1961 Belgian Grand Prix Fastest Laps

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Lap	Time
1	6	Richie Ginther	Ferrari	20	3:59.800

Only drivers with a recorded lap time appear. No fastest-lap bonus point was awarded.

1961 Post-Race F1 Championship Standings

Championship standings after the 1961 Belgian Grand Prix.

1961 Post-Race F1 Drivers' Championship Standings

POS	Driver	Nationality	Car	PTS
1	Phil Hill	American	Ferrari	19
2	Wolfgang von Trips	German	Ferrari	18
3	Stirling Moss	British	Lotus	12
4	Richie Ginther	American	Ferrari	12
5	Jim Clark	British	Lotus	4
6	Olivier Gendebien	Belgian	Emeryson / Ferrari	3
7	Dan Gurney	American	Porsche	3
8	John Surtees	British	Cooper	2
9	Bruce McLaren	New Zealander	Cooper	1
10	Jack Brabham	Australian	Cooper	1
–	Jo Bonnier	Swedish	Porsche	0
–	Maurice Trintignant	French	Cooper	0
–	Graham Hill	British	BRM	0
–	Cliff Allison	British	Lotus	0
–	Tony Brooks	British	BRM	0
–	Hans Herrmann	German	Porsche	0
–	Jackie Lewis	British	Cooper	0
–	Masten Gregory	American	Cooper	0
–	Carel Godin de Beaufort	Dutch	Porsche	0
–	Trevor Taylor	British	Lotus	0
–	Michael May	Swiss	Lotus	0
–	Lorenzo Bandini	Italian	Cooper	0
–	Innes Ireland	British	Lotus	0
–	Ian Burgess	British	Lotus	0
–	Lucien Bianchi	Belgian	Emeryson / Lotus	0
–	Willy Mairesse	Belgian	Lotus	0
–	Tony Marsh	British	Lotus	0
–	Wolfgang Seidel	German	Lotus	0
–	Henry Taylor	British	Lotus	0

1961 Post-Race F1 Constructors' Championship Standings

POS	Car	PTS
1	Ferrari	22
2	Lotus – Climax	12
3	Cooper – Climax	4
4	Porsche	3
—	Cooper – Maserati	0
—	BRM – Climax	0
—	Emeryson – Maserati	0

Drivers and constructors counted their best 5 results. Only the highest-placed eligible car for each constructor could score constructor points. A victory earned nine driver points but eight constructor points.

1961 Formula 1 Race Calendar

Round	Grand Prix	Circuit	Date
1	1961 Monaco Grand Prix	Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo	14 May
2	1961 Dutch Grand Prix	Circuit Zandvoort, Zandvoort	22 May
3	1961 Belgian Grand Prix	Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Stavelot	18 June
4	1961 French Grand Prix	Reims-Gueux, Reims	2 July
5	1961 British Grand Prix	Aintree Motor Racing Circuit, Liverpool	15 July
6	1961 German Grand Prix	Nürburgring, Nürburg	6 August
7	1961 Italian Grand Prix	Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, Monza	10 September
8	1961 United States Grand Prix	Watkins Glen International, Watkins Glen, New York	8 October